By Rudy Helm, Audio and Quality Assurance Tech, Visual Purple, LLC.

I thought I’d open a discussion about the term ‘Foley.’ I’ve noticed the use of the term bandied about and, methinks, inadvertently misused by some. Truth is, a foley is a sound effect, yet not just any sound effect is a foley.

A Foley artist (named after Jack Foley, a film-sound pioneer) on a multimedia, television or film crew is responsible for creating a goodly share of the sound effects in a project. The typical notion is that foleys are recorded, real-time, in a session with a recording engineer. A foley artist has a specialized role, crucial to producing a successful soundtrack. (Note that Foley artists, sound designers, editors, etc, are not necessarily one and the same function.)

Sound effects and Foley are applied at post-production to voice-over, dialog and real effects which were recorded by microphones on set. There are times, as when in the case of animated features, there’s no sound to begin with and all sound needs to be fabricated by the Foley artist and sound designer. The Foley artist might try to bolster existing sounds to make them more immersive, or bigger-than-life. Below can be seen a list of sound effects apparatuses. Often commonly found materials are utilized. Many Foley artists are proud of their own sound effects inventions and tactics.

Some sound effects apparatuses to give an idea of how Foley effects can be made:
Apparatuses = Intended Effect
Clacking empty coconut shells together=Horses galloping or trotting
Crumbling up audio tape =Leaves rustling
Flapping a pair of gloves =Bird wings flapping
Breaking bamboo or celery stalk = Bones crunching
Thump watermelon = Body punch
Kiss back of hand = Kissing
Walks in high heels on wood = Foot steps – high heels
Squeeze box of corn starch =Foot steps – snow
Slide paper from envelope = Sliding doors, ala Star Trek

Note that this is an ‘art’ context and not a collection in a library. It’s about illusion. Conversely, recording an actual jet engine is not making a Foley. Because you simply recorded a real jet does not mean that you have engaged in the art of foley-ism. But faking a jet engine sound by recording some other event and instead, simulating the jet, you have made a Foley.

Sound Effect is generally described as a superset to many different sound disciplines. A Hard sound effect is a common sound such as door slams, weapons firing, and vehicle drive-bys. Whenever the real thing is recorded and utilized, this is not a foley element.

A Background (BG) sound effect is an ambient or atmosphere sound such as forest sounds, or people ‘walla’. Again, record and use the real thing and we’re still not talkin’ foley.

A Foley sound effect is a sound that is synchronized on screen. Footsteps, the rustling of cloth, the deployment of hand props are typical Foley practices. In the film world, sound effect categories are specialized. Sound editors bear titles known by their specialties, such as “Car cutter”, “Guns cutter”, etc.). Understanding the process can be digested into two parts: the recording of the effects, and the processing of effects. Commercial sound effects libraries are available to content producers. On large-scale projects sound effects may be custom-recorded for originality.

None of the above sound industry terms are of my own invention. And there are no ‘guidelines and recommended practices’ published (that I am personally aware of), so anyone can quite freely call me a ‘quack.’ Thankfully, there are other places on the Internet to find similar discussions in this topic. Among them being:

The Art of Foley
Sound Effect
Film Crew
Foley Artist
Film Production

I have been a many-year subscriber to Mix Magazine, EQ Magazine and Electronic Musician, former co-chairman of the Interactive Audio Special Interest Group (under the umbrella of the MIDI Manufacturer’s Assoc.), and a professional musician since for way too many years. Now back to my coconut shells…

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Proven to be more effective than traditional training methods, Serious Gaming (SG) has many unique advantages. It’s not a new concept- it has been around for awhile dating as far back as 1977 when Clark Abt discussed the idea and used the term in his book, although it wasn’t directed to computers at that time.

By transforming traditional learning methods these highly experiential software applications simulate a real life experience without all of the inherent risks involved, allowing the player to develop real-life skills and knowledge all in a cost-effective and controlled environment. What about games for education?-you may ask… clear benefits of engagement and learning intensity have been proven in the educational arena as well.

Serious Games for Education branch out into three main types:
• Game-based Learning
• Edu-tainment
• Edu-market

Conservative studies suggest that one will retain 25% of what they hear, 50% when writing it down and between 75 to 80% by doing something hands on. We believe in the “Learn by Doing” mantra.

The Serious Games market is growing fueled by better technology, innovative instructional design approaches and compelling titles…not to mention the gargantuan demographic shift to twenty-something folks who embrace games and “get it.”

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The impact of technology to education and learning applications is far too great to sum up in a blog entry. But I did want to take a moment and review how far learning technology has come over the years. The impact of learning technologies (also called “educational technology”) has increased dramatically over the past decade. In fact, innovative types of learning are on the forefront of teaching and training today. Utilizing computers in our everyday activities, both for work and pleasure is now common place thus making computer-based learning technology a clear go-to choice for today’s teaching and training needs no matter the organization or content.

Learning technology has greatly enhanced the learning experience, with more immersive (read compelling) experiences to come. Riding the bow wave of Virtual Worlds, today’s learner is able to enjoy a heightened and almost visceral participation in content. Not to mention all the cool distance learning (DL) aspects but this time done right: immerse, engage…change the way people think! Teaching in Second Life is but a hint of the slowly building evolution, come revolution, in learning technology.

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By David Ostby, Chief Technical Officer, Visual Purple, LLC

The days of the ‘rifle and canteen’ soldier are gone. And it’s not that today’s soldiers no longer carry rifles and canteens. But in today’s complex military environment, more is needed to survive and succeed. More and better intelligence, more speed, more accuracy; in a word, more information. Lots of it. And quickly.

Of course, along with all this information comes a dire need to manage it. Imagine data streaming in from hundreds of sources and sensors. The acronyms alone are daunting. Acronyms like FCS, DCGS, CMT, ISR… the list goes on and on. They’re all part of the New Army’s plan to up gun today’s soldier into the next generation soldier. It’s been given the name “Future Combat Systems or FCS.”

FCS soldiers are expected to assimilate massive amounts of battlefield data and make actionable sense of it. Behind each one of those acronyms is a world full of complexity. The only way to collect and manage that amount of data is by the use of sophisticated systems and software. The learning curve is steep: FCS soldiers have to become quick experts in multiple complex software tools – their lives and the lives of their fellow war fighters depend upon it. The need to train the soldier in its use is as daunting as the complexity of the software itself.

This situation hatched the idea of embedded training and its maxim “train as you fight, fight as you train”. Instead of using tedious manuals and classroom lectures, embed the training inside of a simulator which resides inside of the software. Present the soldier with realistic scenarios inside the software, so that the soldier must use the actual software to resolve the situation.

This is easier said than done. The trainer would have to fit seamlessly into the mother application. Also, it would have to allow the user to make mistakes and robustly redirect the user onto the right path, all the while maximizing each learning opportunity as it appears. The mother application builders don’t usually have these kinds of simulation production skills.

To build an embedded trainer, you’d want to hire a company with extensive expertise in training simulations. And you’d want them to have worked with the DoD in that arena. Turns out that Visual Purple is just such a company, and we had our first opportunity to build an embedded trainer in 2008.

What does it look like? How does it work?

Stay tuned…

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Mobile connectivity to virtual worlds already exists for specific phones and a handful of applications, but more mobile virtual worlds are on the horizon. With the evolution of mobile technology becoming more and more popular over the past decade, virtual worlds may be a natural fit for the ever popular cell phone. According to Pew-“ The mobile device will be the primary connection tool to the internet for most people in the world in 2020.” With the fast growing popularity of PC based virtual world applications, it is only a matter of time before virtual world browser-based applications become commonplace. Once this transformation takes place one can assume that the migration to phone apps would be the next logical step. We look forward to the day when mixed realties become a reality! Think of it: walking down the street looking at your virtual world enabled cell phone seeing a real-time geo accurate view of the world you are, well…experiencing. With overlays and filters you could at a glance hone in on targets of importance, like the REAL Ray’s Pizza in the Big Apple.

There are currently a handful of virtual world apps that are tailored for mobile phones. One example is Mini Friday by Sulake which hit the 1 million user mark in late 2008. Mobile Virtual Worlds could be the next big thing, but my belief is that they are still a few years out from becoming commonplace. Obviously screen size is a factor in this as well as the much needed processing power in keeping up with what it takes to run a virtual world app. Many service providers are cautiously embracing the idea of mobile virtual worlds and I am sure that more developments will come on this topic in the near future. Is mobile the next platform for virtual worlds? Maybe…I sure hope so!

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Ed Heinbockel has just been confirmed as a panel speaker for the 3D TLC Training, Learning and Collaboration conference to be held in Washington DC April- 20-21st. Mr. Heinbockel will be featured on the panel entitled DESIGN. “A group of world-class experts to share the do’s and don’ts of the DESIGN of compelling and effective 3D Training and Learning applications. Key points to be discussed include: biggest mistakes first-timers make when they launch themselves headlong into designing immersive learning environments; whether it helps or hurts to design learning experiences in virtual contexts if you have experience in instructional design; The biggest barriers to designing compelling and “sticky” immersive learning experiences and The top lessons learned in designing and implementing immersive learning experiences.”

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